Painting the Purple

16"x20"
Oil on canvas

I finished up another one.... probably my last painting of the year. I started this painting earlier in the year... like March/April... and never finished. 

So, obviously there's a Raven's theme going on here... the raven... the football... the purple.

But I actually painted this with something else in mind. For the past couple of years I've walked in the PurpleStride to raise money for pancreatic cancer. The walk in DC is usually around the June time frame. Purple is their color. My original intent was to sell or raffle off the original painting or do something to raise money. But then I had a conflict and couldn't do the walk this year. So then the painting never got finished. Until just a few weeks ago.

I'd still like to keep my plan. Even if it's a year later. So once I get my act together and figure out what I want to do, I'll post about that. Stay tuned.

Keys, Keys, and More Keys

It's a fun day when you get to go to Lowe's and buy a new door lock. Then ask the key guy to make you eight new keys. He then makes a comment about how you must have a big family.

After a solid five minutes of key making you feel bad and scale back your order. You also realize your new lock already comes with two keys! It's like you won the lottery.

Did I mention we moved? 

Naturally new houses call for new door locks. Among the chaos of packing, keeping the house super tidy, etc. I forced a crafty project on myself. Why buy those generic key covers when you can spray paint? Enter Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

At the time the color choice seemed like a good idea. Afterall, they would match the metal of the new door hardware.

Of course hindsight is always 20/20 and I probably could have gone with a bolder color. These are sleek though. Classy and sleek.

As for our old keys, I decided to make a keepsake out of one of them... because I'm attached and emotional like that. I had seen this idea awhile back on Pinterest. (Here is the link to the actual blog.)

Sure, a map could have been cute too.

And here is my little creation.



That purple image/sketch-looking thing in the background is our house. I played around with a photo in Photoshop then applied my favorite filter: Poster Edges. It was meant to blend in to the background a bit. But also be... well... relevant.

I should also clarify that this is clearly the husband's key as I am not a die-hard Ravens fan. Shame, I know.

It's Friday Friday Friday

What better way to spend a day off than to run errands? Of course if I'm going to run out I might as well take care of a few other things. Like visiting Michael's.

Backup. Or visiting the Goodwill Superstore first.

Why? Well, because occasionally I find wonderfully inexpensive things there. Like used frames that can be spray painted to look brand new. Or these puppies.

They were five dollars. That's right. $5.00.

Ok, back to Michael's. I needed to pick up a few things for a project I will be working on in the near future. Can we guess?

Another hint: It is related to my one of my Pinterest boards.

 

Although I'm not a regular cake maker, I have had spurts of success in the past. This whole fondant thing still eludes me though. And the last time I worked with it I regretted it. I'm hoping this time goes better. I am also trying out a new brand to see if that helps.

(Side note: Just spent 20 minutes looking for a picture of my last fondant experiment. No luck. If you're curious, it was white, square, and had a Colombian flag on it. There may be a reason why I did not document the event...)

The other interesting part of my outing was the mayhem going on at the grocery store. Lots of balloons, purple, jerseys, and other Ravens paraphernalia. Oh and a news crew. At the grocery store. 

I get the whole Ravens thing. But party at the grocery store? Really?

Of course, then again, I'm the weirdo that photographed the whole thing.